General Assembly Distr.: General 10 October 2018
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United Nations A/73/420 General Assembly Distr.: General 10 October 2018 Original: English Seventy-third session Agenda item 55 Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem Report of the Secretary-General* Summary The present report has been prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/87. It focuses on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, with a particular focus on the situation in Gaza, and covers the period from 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2018. * The present report was submitted after the deadline in order to reflect the most recent developments. 18-16857 (E) 171018 *1816857* A/73/420 I. Introduction 1. Submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/87, the present report covers the period from 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2018. It is based on monitoring conducted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and on information collected by other United Nations entities and non-governmental organizations. It should be read in conjunction with the report of the Secretary-General on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people (A/72/565), and the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted to the thirty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolutions S-9/1 and S-12/1 (A/HRC/37/38). 2. The present report on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory focuses principally on Gaza in the light of the disastrous humanitarian situation with which it is confronted, including as a result of the ongoing closures,1 violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and a peak in violence that led to the highest number of fatalities since the 2014 hostilities. II. Legal framework 3. The entire Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the Gaza Strip, is considered as being occupied by Israel, to which international humanitarian law and international human rights law apply.2 4. According to the international humanitarian law provisions governing occupation, the occupying power is obliged to protect the population of the occupied territory, notably to treat the protected persons humanely at all times and without any discrimination, and to take all necessary measures in its power to restore and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety (l’ordre et la vie publics), while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country. 3 The occupying power is also required to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of persons in the occupied territory pursuant to its international obligations. 5. A detailed analysis of the applicable legal framework can be found in the report of the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/34/38, paras. 3–11). III. Gaza blockade and closure 6. As the occupying power, Israel has, to the fullest extent of the means available to it, the duty to ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population and to bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the __________________ 1 The term “closures” is used to describe the imposition by Israel of prolonged closures and economic and movement restrictions in Gaza. 2 See A/HRC/34/38, para. 10; International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 2004, para. 101. See also Security Council resolutions 1860 (2009) and 2334 (2016), among others; General Assembly resolutions 62/181 and 63/98, among others; Human Rights Council resolution 10/18, among others; reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/12/37, para. 9, and A/HRC/8/17, para. 5, among others; and the declaration of 17 December 2014 adopted by the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention (A/69/711-S/2015/1, annex). 3 Hague Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 1907 (Hague Regulations), art. 43, and Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention), art. 27; A/HRC/34/38, para. 13. 2/16 18-16857 A/73/420 occupied territory are inadequate.4 The obligation of Israel towards the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory reaches beyond the provision of basic supplies as it encompasses an obligation to respect its human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to an adequate standard of living. 5 7. The Secretary-General has repeatedly expressed his concern over the impact of the Gaza closures on the life of the civilian population, underlining that it may amount to collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law.6 A. Movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza 8. Restrictions on freedom of movement of people and goods by the Israeli authorities remained a serious concern during the reporting period. Impact of the closures on the right to freedom of movement 9. Freedom of movement is guaranteed under international human rights law, 7 which expressly provides that everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his or her own, and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his or her own country.8 While the right to freedom of movement may be restricted, the right shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, are consistent with the other rights recognized in international human rights law and are proportionate to the interest to be protected.9 Restrictions on the freedom of movement from Gaza, which have a significant negative impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to an adequate standard of living, health, education, work and family life, may also amount to collective punishment under international humanitarian law.10 10. Egyptian authorities kept the Rafah crossing closed for much of the reporting period, making the Erez crossing the only regular means of exit for Gazans to the West Bank and abroad. As a general rule, every Palestinian in Gaza who needs to travel through Erez can do so only with an Israeli issued permit, provided that he or she falls into one of three main categories 11 and the quotas for passage, defined by Israeli security authorities.12 11. Regarding the category of patients and their companions, only patients in need of life-saving or life-changing medical treatment that is unavailable in Gaza can apply for an exit permit, which is for single use only. Chronically ill patients in need of multiple medical appointments must apply each time they need to exit Gaza. Regarding other exceptional cases, one can exit Gaza to visit a “first-degree” relative, i.e., mother, father, brother, sister, children and husband or wife “who is seriously ill __________________ 4 Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 55. 5 A/HRC/24/30, para. 22, A/HRC/34/36, para. 36 and A/HRC/31/40, para. 36; See also A/HRC/34/38, paras. 30–31 and 33. 6 A/72/565, para. 28. 7 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 12 (1). 8 Ibid., art. 12 (2) and (4). 9 Ibid., art. 12 (3); Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 27 (1999) on freedom of movement, para. 14. 10 A/HRC/34/38, paras. 64 and 65. 11 The three main categories are merchants, patients and their companions and other exceptional cases. 12 Israel Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Activities in the Territories, “Unclassified status of authorizations for the entry of Palestinians into Israel, their passage between Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip and their travel abroad”, September 2017. 18-16857 3/16 A/73/420 with a potential life-threatening condition or who requires a protracted hospitalization”.13 12. Fulfilling the criteria for passing through Erez does not guarantee an exit permit. For example, to visit an ailing mother, one must first collect and submit to Israeli authorities a medical report issued by a hospital confirming that the mother is seriously ill; a copy of an identity document issued by Israeli authorities (between 30,000 and 40,000 people living in Gaza do not have such identity documents and can never apply for any type of permit) 14 and, if travelling to or through Jordan, a letter from the Jordanian authorities allowing the applicant to travel through Jordan. 13. An amendment to the rules regulating the processing of exit permit requests, introduced in October 2017,15 extended the timeline for a reply to applications from 14 working days to between 23 and 70 working days, depending on the category of applicant. This amendment was challenged by Israeli human rights organizations in a petition submitted to the Israeli High Court of Justice on 10 April 2018, 16 on the basis that the extension of the processing time for requests, without any justification or legal grounds, causes unnecessary and disproportionate harm to the human rights o f Gaza residents. The first hearing is expected to be held in January 2019. 14. Another measure requires that Palestinians undertaking “travel for extended stay” can cross through Erez only if they agree to sign a waiver stating they will not return to Gaza for at least one year.